Love Story : Taylor Swiftâs Crowning Moment
On 12th September , 2008 a 19yr old girl from Reading, Pennsylvania released the third single from her second-ever studio album âFearlessâ Unbeknownst to Taylor Swift she had cemented her place in the history of country music and took the first step into becoming the global icon she is today in 2020.
Anyone whoâs ever heard a Taylor Swift song probably knows the lyrics to this song by heart and gets one of the strongest nostalgia feelings ever. This song started the journey of Swiftâs rise to stardom and probably one of the most important songs in music history.
Like most of Taylorâs songs back then and probably now as well this was written from her experiences as a teenager . Love Story was also met with a lot of indifference by her record label Big Machine Records ( at the time we all know what they did now ) and mainly from her parents but Taylor later stated that it was a fun experience to fight for it especially now that she had something to prove.
When the song released it received much critical acclaim and sold an astonishing 18+million copies making it one of the most sold singles of all time peaking at number 4 in the billboard hot 100 while also certifying itself 8 times platinum making it one of the best selling singles in the USA also once held the record for the most sold single of all time in the US.
The music video maintained the feel of the song setting itself in the 1800s .Love Story is the only Taylor Swift single to feature on all of her headline tours followed by the 1989 single âShake It Offâ which she now uses to close off all of her shows .
But what made this song what it is today and making Taylor the most important musical artist of this century?
Letâs take a deciphering look. Here We Go!
Starting off with the composition & backstory
Backstory -
As the song suggests and from a Taylor Swift interview she wrote this song because of a relationship of herâs which her parents did not approve of making her relate her situation to that of Romeo and Juliet one of her main ways of defining the situation in this song is that of saying âNo one wanted them to be together except themselvesâ
The songâs ending differed from the one of Romeo & Juliett Taylor said the following on thatââ âI feel like they had such promise & they were so crazy for each other. And if that had gone a little bit differently, it could have been one of the best love stories ever told. And it is one of the best stories ever told but itâs a tragedy.â
When Taylor started writing this song sheâs stated multiple times that she wrote this on her bedroom floor when she was 17 & that she finished composing the song in 20mins, feeling too inspired to put the song down unfinished.
The song was recorded at Blackbird Studios in Nashville produced by Nathan Chapman. Swift recorded this on an Avantone CV-12 Mic, Chapman initially loaned the mic to Swift to try out but when Swift tried it out she said âTestâ followed by âThis is my mic. I love this mic, I just want to use this now â and sheâs been doing the same ever since.
Compositionââ
The song is written in the key of D Major spanning one vocal octave with a length of 3mins 54secs at a tempo of 120BPM
Intro -
The songs start with palm muting on the transition of C-G-Am-F while capoed at 2nd fret. With a major emphasis on the bass strings on the acoustic guitar.
Versesââ
The song goes to palm-muted strumming with the transition of C-F-Am-F before ending with AmâââG while Taylor starts off a soft voice presumably of Juliett.
Pre Chorus -
Often regarded as the most iconic part of the song the palm muting goes into open strumming with 8 strums on each chord on a transition of F-G-Am-C before ending it with G-Am-F-G
Chorus -
With fingerpicking backing, Taylor Swift goes into the transition of C-G-Am-F-G-C before an abrupt cut-off.
Soloââ
The solo has 2 versions the electric one being a distortion based used for live shows played by her guitarist Paul Stitodi and the acoustic finger-picked one from the original record with a chord progression in the background.
Bridge -
Anyone whoâs heard a Taylor song knows that she loves a bridge with her acknowledging it with the Love Story one had a basic yet vital one which led into one of the most epic chorus performances.
Outro -
Taylor ends the story on the transition of D-A-Bm-G-A-D playing one of the best examples of 21st-century country music.
Onto the lyrics
DisclaimerâââThis is my interpretation and by no means correct
Intro -
Even though the intro contains no lyrics it is one of the best pieces of country intro and so perfectly 2008
Verseâââ1
We were both young when I first saw you
I closed my eyes and the flashback started
Iâm standing there on a balcony in summer air
Taylor narrates the story from Juliettâs standpoint
The narrator begins the story by saying how she was a young girl ( as itâs Juliett we have to assume 13) when she first saw Romeo she closes her eyes and everything they had to go through starts happening in front of her again.
She starts the backstory off by reliving the day she first saw Romeo how she started off the day in the lovely breeze standing in her balcony when she first caught the glimpse of Romeo.
See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns
See you make your way through the crowd
and say hello, little did I know
Juliett takes the story to the night during the palace ball when she was mesmerised by the decorations around her while admiring she saw Romeo for the first time properly making way through the party to meet her and when he finally does Juliett says little did she know what was to follow
Pre Chorus -
That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles
And my daddy said âStay away from Juliettâ
And I was crying on my staircase begging you please donât go
The story takes a time jump to presumably a few days later when Romeo is trying his best to meet Juliett but not without alerting Juliettâs father who tells him to never come close to her again. This leaves Juliett absolutely distraught.
Chorus -
And I said
Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
Iâll be waiting all thereâs left is to run
Youâll be the prince & Iâll be the princess
Itâs a love story baby just say yes
Juliett feeling absolutely distraught from this seemingly pleads to Romeo that he takes her someplace where the can be together being their own prince & princess all it requires is for him to say yes.
Verseâââ2
So I sneak out to the garden to see you
We keep quiet âcause weâre dead if they knew
So close your eyes
Escape this town for a little while
Juliett continues by saying how she risked everything to meet Romeo and how even the slightest of errors could land them in serious trouble. She ends by saying itâs time to leave town and live on their own terms.
PreâââChorus
âCause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter
And my daddy said stay away from Juliett
But you were everything to me I was begging you
Please donât go
Juliett continues by saying ( assuming they got caught ) how Romeo meant everything to him and how she couldnât live without him
Chorusââ
And I said
Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
Iâll be waiting all thereâs left to do is run
Youâll be the prince Iâll be the princess
Itâs a love story baby just say yes
Romeo save me, theyâre tryna tell me how to feel
This love is difficult, but itâs real
Donât be afraid weâll make it outta this mess
Itâs a love story baby just yes
Juliett goes on to beg to Romeo to save her from the grasps of her family and how theyâre forcing their thought process on her. Romeo this time acknowledges this and asks her not to be afraid he will make everything right.
Solo -
All I can say about this solo is Taylor Swift perfectly captured the feelings of all things country.
Bridgeââ
I got tired of waiting, wondering if you were ever coming around
My faith in you was fading
When I met you on the outskirts of town and I said
Juliett ( assuming Romeo left for a while ) leaves the palace after growing restless and how she was losing trust in what Romeo told her when she finally encountered him on the outskirts of town .
Chorus -
Romeo save me Iâve been feeling so alone
I keep waiting for you but you never come
Is this in my head, I Dont know what to think
He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said
Marry me, Juliett youâll never have to be alone
I love you and thatâs all I really know
I talked to your dad go pick out a white dress
Itâs a love story baby just say yes
Meeting after a while Juliett finally spoke her heart out on how sheâs been lonely and desperate for him to come back only for him to disappoint & finally asks Romeo is this even real?
All of a sudden Romeo kneels to the ground and brings out a ring proposing to Juliett finally and assuring her everything has finally worked out their families have agreed and itâs time for the wedding bells to ring and asks her to go choose a wedding dress but before just say yes.
Outro -
Oh, Oh
Cause we were both young when I first saw you
Bringing it back to the present Juliett exclaims how it was an experience to never forget and how they were both young when they fell in love.
The lyrics to this song mightâve been very basic but the passion of a young & ready to conquer Taylor Swift made it one of the greatest songs of all time.
This song started a journey for Taylor the journey of making her arguably the biggest artists of the 2010s the girl from âFearlessâ transformed into a world wide phenomenon.
Her next album âRedâ which released in 2012 was her first time testing out a new genre with the flavour of pop in the song âWe Are Never Getting Back Togetherâ to the dubstep inspired âI Knew You Were Troubleâ.
In 2014 she released her synth-pop inspired 1989 with songs like âShake It Offâ and the defining song of the album âBlank Spaceâ, the album did not even contain a single drop of country music but was if not the best one of the best works of Taylor.
In 2017 she dropped Reputation a dark album in which she hit out against all the toxic critics ( rightly so ) something which majority of artists are scared to do and became a role model for future artists to come with songs like âLook What You Made Me Doâ & âReady For Itâ.
She ended the 2010s with her final album Lover a joyful yet meaningful album taking her back to her roots from Fearless although still working for the betterment of the world with âYou Need To Calm Downâ.
Though Taylor Swift didnât win any major accolades for Love Story
She forever won the hearts of the world and started her journey on the road to becoming the definition of success & an icon.
By â
Basal Crayon
Originally Published On Medium
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Bohemian Rhapsody : Queenâs Crowning Moment
31st October 1975 not an unusual date it was a halloween as usual , but 4 misfits calling themselves âQueenâ unbeknownst to the impact they are going to change the world of music forever released their first single of arguably one of the greatest albums of all time
The album ? A Night At The Opera
The Song? Bohemian Rhapsody
Often considered as the greatest song of all time and personally it is
To the average person in 2020 a song stretching 6mins may or may no be an issue now that we have songs like Pink Floydâs âShine On You Crazy Diamondâ And Camelâs âLady Fantasyâ ( Who in my humble opinion are still one of the most underrated bands of all time seconded for me only by The Knophler Brothers Dire Straits )
Now back to the topic in 1975 labels like EMI thought that 6 minutes is stupid and I quote Roger Taylor OBE
They said it was too long and wouldnât work.We thought âWell we could cut it , but it wouldnât make any senseâ It doesnât make any sense now and it would make even less sense then you would miss all the different moods of the song .So we said no itâll either fly or it wonât
But this was more than just a song it was the baby of Mr Mercury
In 2002 Brian May OBE said this
âHe ( Freddie ) knew exactly what he was doing âŚ.. we just helped him bring it to lifeâ
But using his charm & lot of friendship Freddie did what Freddie does best ( except music that is ) with the help of his friend and Capital Radio DJ Kenny Everett .Queen released the song on Capital Radio and over the weekend Kenny got requests and played the song over 14 times! ( Now thatâs a lot for a Halloween weekend ) countless of people lined up outside record stores on the following Monday to buy the record only to be disappointed by EMI & Elektra as the record hadnât officially released yet.
But how does a 6min song have such an impact?
This might get technical so sit back and play A Night At The Opera!
Letâs take a deciphering look.Here We Go!
As I already quoted beforehand Bohemian Rhapsody was Freddie Mercuryâs brainchild and Iâm pretty sure Freddie had it all deciphered already and as Brian has said in the past Freddie had it all written on pieces of paper
From the start to finish Freddie had it all he wrote the ballad the piano and even Brianâs legendary solo & one of the most defining rock riffs of all time
Now A bit about the composition
Bohemian Rhapsody is all a song can hope for with a ballad , a amazing guitar solo , opera ( that people actually understood no hard feeling though ) & one of the greatest rock riffs
Now going Part by Part
A Capella â (0:00 â 0:49)
The five part harmony that opens up with iconic â Is This The Real Life Or Is This Just Fantasy â a Capella which comprises of more than 3 overlays of only Freddie contrary to what people think that it was all 4 members opening
At roughly 0:21 the grand piano makes it entrance as one of the defining moments of rock music with the storyâs narrator ( which we will take a closer look at later ) introducing himself as â just a poor boy â who requires no sympathy and is easily come & gone while being little high little low
This leads us into the ballad
Ballad â ( 0:49 â 2:37 )
John Deacon starts with his bass and Freddie starts with the piano & âMama Just Killed A Manâ after Freddie does this twice his vocals sort of change & evolve turning into someone who is confessing something .
Roughly at 1:19 Roger Taylorâs Drums kick in after the first stanza the piano repeats with Freddie starting with the second verse being a stronger & more vocal story of the narrator with Freddie emphasising killing off the verse with arguably the most iconic line of Music ( At least for me )
â I Sometimes I Wish I Had Never Been Born At All â
Kick In Brian May
Guitar Solo (2:37â3:05)
Brian May plays a very progressive solo in the key of E flat
At 3:03 he cuts off the solo on An A note signalling the start of operatic section
Opera ( 3:05 â 4:07 )
Iconic , Legendary , Defining , Great , Controversial are just a few words that come to mind about this section .This section comprised of over 180 overdubs ( cant imagine people like Cardi B doing that !?)
Brian doing the lower part
Freddie with the power & symbolicalness of his vocal strength in the middle
Roger doing the higher notes ( cause he was the only one who couldâve made the dogs hear him )
With lyrics like Scarmouche , Galileo & Fandago
Producer Roy Thomas Baker Once Said â
Everytime Freddie came up with a new Galileo I ordered a new piece of tape
On Came The Hard Rock Part
Hard Rock ( 4:07â4:54 )
At 4:07 Brian May played one of the most symbolic rock riffs of all time ( also written by Mr Mercury ) Three Guitar riffs are played ended by Freddie back on his piano after his vocal outrage ends
Outro ( 4:54 â 5:55 )
After the iconicness of the riff ends Mercury plays multiple ascending octaves on his piano ( The same piano used by by Paul McCartney of The Beatles to record âHey Judeâ)
The narrator ends the story by saying nothing really matters to him
This is followed by anyway the wind blows & Roger hitting a gong
Isnât Musical Masterpiece An Understatement!?
Now lets move onto the most difficult part of this song
What do these lyrics actually mean !!!?
Nobody can surely know now that Freddie is gone but Iâm pretty sure we wonât have known even he was there ( which I wish everyday )
Going Part by Part
Intro
Disclaimer â This is my interpretation of the song and is by no means correct
âIs this the real life or is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
Open your eyes and seeâ
The narrator starts of by a kind of cry by saying is this the real life ? Is this what we have made the world , Is this what everyone needs to go through
Exclaiming about the cruel & harshness of the world
He continues by saying heâs caught In a landslide which I think is the personification of the modern society how itâs just going in a downward spiral with nobody doing about it leaving no one with any way to get out of this
He ends it by saying open your eyes and see what is happening itâs time for change
âLook up to the skies and see
Iâm just a poor boy , I need no sympathy
Because Iâm easy come , easy go .Little high , little low
Any way the wind blows ( doesnât really matter to me )â
The narrator goes on in his story by saying that itâs high time that people look up to the sky and think what life actually is about but he continues on by saying how heâs just a poor boy who needs no sympathy and how nobody really cares what heâs saying and how any way the wind blows or how the world functions anymore no longer matters to him
Verse -
âMama Just Killed A Man , Put A Gun Against His Head , Pulled My Trigger Now Heâs Dead
Mama Life Had Just Begun , But Now Iâve Gone And Thrown It All Away
Mama oooo Didnât Mean To Make You Cry , If Iâm Not Back Again This Time Tomorrow Carry On
As If Nothing Really Mattersâ
Now we enter the narratorâs back story
Iâm going to follow one idea here that how the young narrator killed his former self who cared about this world
The narrator starts by confessing to his mother how heâs killed the former self everyone had loved how the world forced him to put a gun on his head and pull the trigger resulting in the death of his persona who cared
He goes on further by saying how his life had just begun he had just started exploring his existence but before he could the cruelness & harsh nature of the world forced him into this and how he has thrown it all away
This stanza tells us that we have a young narrator maybe in his teens
The Narrator continues apolitically to his mother that heâs sorry he didnât mean to make her cry by killing his past self & that if his old self isnât back this time tomorrow carry on as if nothing ever happened
âToo Late My Time Has Come , Sends Shivers Down My Spine Bodyâs Aching All The Time
Goodbye Everybody Iâve Got To Go , Gotta Leave You All Behind & Face The Truth
Mama Oooo ( Anyway The Wind Blows )
I Sometime Wish Iâd Never Been Born At Allâ
Now that the day has gone by and the narratorâs old self hasnât been revived he finally comes to realise what heâs done how heâs committed persona suicide and how the thought of that sends chill down his body
He says his final goodbye to presumably his family that his old persona is dead and itâs time for him to leave and go on a new journey finishing off by telling his mother how it wouldâve been better if he had never been born
This ends the verse
Guitar solo â
Even though itâs a solo Freddie tried his best to show the narratorâs emotions by writing Brianâs solo trying to make the guitar create a sort of cry as ( assuming the narrator plays guitar ) is the best way for the narrator to show the world how he really feels
Opera -
âThe operatic part for me is sort of a trial of the narratorâs old self
I See A Little Sillhouetto Of A Man
Scaramouch , Scaramouch Will You Do The Fandango
Thunderbolts & Lightning Very Very Frightening
Galileo Galileo Figaro Magnificoâ
This part is the trial of the narratorâs older self as the newer self sees whatever remains off the past as a silhouette .He sees scaramouch as a person representing society and fandango as the way it functions and kind off makes fun of how the society forces everyone to do everything their way
���Thunderbolts & Lightning are glimmers of change & hope and how itâs frightening to change something
Iâm Just A Poor Boy Nobody Loves Me , Heâs Just A Poor Boy From A Poor Family
Heâs Just A Poor Boy From A Poor Family , Spare Him His Life From This Monstrosity
Easy Come Easy Go Will You Let Me Go
Bismillah No We Will Not Let You Go ( Let Him Go )
Bismillah We Will Not Let You Go ( Let Him Go )
Bismillah We Will Not Let You Go ( Let Me Go )
We Will Not Let You Go
No No No No No No
Oh Mama Mia , Mama Mia
Beelzebub Has A Devil Put Aside For Me !,For Me !â
In this part the newer self is fighting with the world to avoid reviving the older self how heâs a poor boy all alone nobody loving him and all alone to fight heâs pleading to god ( personified as Bismillah ) to let him go from the grasps of society and how god is telling him to fight for himself and at the end he realises the fight has just begun by saying mama mia as a form of fear and how beelzebub has kept a devil specifically for him due to the way he fought
Hard Rock â
âSo You Think You Can Stone Me And Spit In My Eye
So You Think You Can Love Me & Leave Me To Die
Oh Baby , Canât Do This To Me Baby !
Just Gotta Get Out , Just Gotta Get Right Outta Hereâ
In the supposed climax of the story the narrator finally decides to fight back by saying how does the society think that they can ruin him without any form of backlash expected , how everyone used to love his past self but the second he turned they left him alone
He ends this part by saying that itâs high time now he isnât going to let anyone do this and heâs only waiting to get out of here to take his revenge
Outro -
âOoh Yeah , Ooh Yeah Nothing Really Matters To Me
Nothing Really Matters To Me
Anyone Can See Nothing Really Matters To Me
Anyway The Wind Blowsâ
The story ends with the narrator having won his battle against the world all alone and how heâs all alone and nothing matters anymore
Conclusion
There maybe a million other interpretations this mightâve been Freddieâs coming out song where he says he killed his old heterosexual self and itâs time for him to live freely as a homosexual
Maybe this is about Freddie & all other members lives struggles or maybe something else
But 1 Thing Is Forever Sure
On 31st October 1975 Queen released something unmatchable and generational
Bohemian Rhapsody Is , Will & Forever Will Be One Of The Greatest Songs Of All Time
By -
Basal Crayon
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